This invention relates generally to controlling storage devices in multicast networks.
A multicast network may enable messages to be sent to a target group of clients that constitute a subset of all of the networked clients. Generally, multicasting is accomplished by including, within a header for example, the addresses of all the subject clients that are addressed.
In some multicasting environments, it may desirable to control the storage devices, such as hard disk drives, of targeted clients. As examples, a server or head-end of a multicast system may determine what information is stored on one or more clients' storage devices. This head-end control may be done with the consent of the client's owner. Thus, the server can determine how to effectively utilize the available disk space on a given client. In some cases, the server may also, in effect, sell or lease access to the available storage space on clients whose storage devices are controlled by the server or head-end.
Thus, there is a need for ways to control the storage devices of one or more clients either individually or as a group in a multicast environment.